Weekly News Roundup

Iberdrola Renovables has begun construction of its first forestry biomass power plant in Oregon, US, which will have an installed capacity of 26.8 megawatts (MW). The power plant is due to be commissioned by the end of 2012.

World’s biggest biodiesel plant

Neste Oil started the world’s largest renewable diesel plant in Singapore with a capacity of 800,000 tonnes/year. Production of NExBTL renewable diesel will be ramped up on a phased basis. Neste Oil is currently producing the biodiesel from palm oil, rapeseed oil and waste fat sourced from the food industry in Finland.

Sustainable palm oil trademark

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) unveiled a trademark that will enable consumers to distinguish products containing palm ingredients that are sourced following Roundtable rules. Product manufacturers and retail companies will be able to apply the new logo to their packaging starting early 2011.

Total builds solar panel plant

Energy company Total will construct a photovoltaic panel production and assembly unit at Composite Park in France’s north-eastern region of Moselle. The plant, which is scheduled to come onstream in late 2011 will have total capacity of 50 megawatt peak (MWp) representing about 220,000 photovoltaic panels per year.

Eastman plasticizer registered under Reach

Eastman Chemical received full registration for its Eastman 168™ non-phthalate plasticizer in accordance with the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. This entitles Eastman, to import, manufacture or use Eastman 168 in quantities exceeding 1000 tons per year – the highest volume registration band under REACH.

And on ICIS News (requires subscription):

Chemtura’s organometallics could see more demand from several end markets, such as photovoltaics.

“Sustainability is a business opportunity; you need to go out there and have the courage and the insights to exploit it,” said marketing expert Phil Allen at the close of a seminar held in Brussels, which looked at sustainability opportunities for chemical companies.

Thanks Dan! I’m still in the recovery phase but a generous helping of turkey and gravy will cure me quickly in time for the big shopping ahead =). Thanks for pointing out the typo. The beauty of the blog is I can quickly address it.